Verklaring van de prenten 1693

This is a page from "Verklaring van de prenten" published in 1693 by Charles Perrault, a French writer and academic. The text is a treatise on the Arts, arguing that painting, sculpture, and architecture all require a certain level of technical skill and knowledge, thus comparing them to the "mechanical arts" of the time. Perrault, a proponent of the Baroque era, uses this essay to argue for the intellectual merit of artistic practice. He believed that the Arts, like the sciences, should be valued for their intellect, skill, and originality. This is a key text in the development of theories about art and artistic practice in the 17th century, and it continues to be studied by art historians today.